Orchard air mixer wind machine



Filed April 1, 1965 1957 R. A. VERTREES ETAL 3,306,533

ORCHARD AIR MIXER WIND MACHINE I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.l. I I

l4- 7 v l/VVE/VTORS I RODNEY A. VERTREES I CARL EZ/VELSON ATTORNEY 1967 R. A. VERTREES ETAL 3,305,533

ORCHARD AIR MIXER WIND MACHINE Filed April 1, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 //v ws/v mks RODNEY A. VERTREES CARL EJVELSO/V BY I 5 ATTORNEY 28, 1967 R. A. VERTREES ENI'AL 3,306,533

ORCHARD AIR MIXER WIND MACHINE Filed April 1, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR RODNEY A- l/ERTREES CARL E. NELSON BY A 7' TORNE Y United States Patent 3,306,533 ORCHARD AIR MIXER WIND MACHINE Rodney A. Vertrees and Carl E. Nelson, both of Rte. 1, Box 116, Rio Oso, Calif. 95674 Filed Apr. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 444,567 Claims. (Cl. 230-258) This invention relates to an orchard air mixer wind machine.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an air mixer in orchards which can create a directional wind and which is also portable so it may be placed at selected locations in the orchard according to weather conditions, and which is capable of mixing colder air near the ground with warmer air in the upper stratum, thereby to prevent frost damage to the orchard.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air mixer for orchards in which in a substantially cylindrical tunnel is provided around an internal combustion engine which latter drives a propeller located outside of the intake end of the tunnel so as to drive air into and through the tunnel past the internal combustion engine, and in which tunnel is mounted on a rotary base, serving also as a gas tank for the operation of the engine, being rotatable on a stationary base; means being provided to impart rotating movement to the entire unit on the stationary base for blowing the air in all directions around the unit.

We are aware that some changes may be made in the general arrangements and combinations of the several devices and parts, as well as in the details of the construction thereof without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following specification, and as defined in the following claims; hence we do not limit our invention to the exact arrangements and combinations of the said device and parts as described in the said specification, nor do we confine ourselves to the exact details of the construction of the said parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

With the foregoing and other objects inview, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for the illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the machine.

FIG. 2 is a fragmental sectional view showing the roller arrangement on the track on the stationary base.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the machine viewing toward the outlet end of the tunnel.

FIG. 4 is a top plan of the machine.

The wind making part of the machine includes a substantially cylindrical tunnel 1 in which is axially mounted an internal combustion engine 2. A propeller 4 is connected to the engine and is located outside of the intake end 6 of the tunnel 1.

The propeller 4 is spaced from the intake end of the tunnel at a distance about equal to one-twelfth of the propeller diameter. For instance, in practice a propeller of about six feet diameter is spaced in a plane about six inches from the intake end 6 of the tunnel 1. It was found that by this spacing the necessity for elaborate intake funnels and casing is obviated.

In order to prevent injury to the operators, the propeller 4 is shielded by a screen shield 7 which shields both circumferentially as well as endwise, as shown in FIGS. '1 and 3. The pitch of the blades of the propeller 4 is such that it impels the air into and through the tunnel 1.

The engine 2 is supported on suitable standards 8 suitably secured to the inner periphery of the tunnel 1. The tunnel 1 is fixed on the top of a tank base 9 by suitable braces or legs 11. The tank base 9 which functions as a fuel tank, has a plurality of rollers 12 journalled thereon on radial journal pins or shafts 13 at spaced points around 3,306,533 Patented Feb. 28, 1967 the tank periphery. The rollers 12 ride on a suitable track 14, fixed on a generally rectangular base frame 16.

The tank base 9 projects partly into the inside flange 17 of the track 14, as shown in FIG. 2, thereby to properly 5 center the unit for rotation.

One of the rollers 15 is a traction roller and has a drive pulley 18. A gear reducer 19 mounted on the top of the tank 9 has its pulley 21 connected by a belt 22 to the drive pulley 18 so as to rotate the traction roller 15 and thereby to turn the tank 9 and the entire unit at a suitable rate of movement. The driven pulley 23 of the gear reducer 19 is connected by a belt and pulley transmission 24 to an extension of the engine shaft 26 beyond the propeller 4.

A suitable fuel line 27 connects the interior of the tank 9 to the gas pump 28 of the engine 2. A suitable electric control panel 29 mounted on the outside of the tunnel 1, for convenient observation and manipulation, is suitably connected to the engine 2 so as to operate the usual starter for starting the engine in the usual manner.

In operation the usual switch on the panel 29 is closed so as to operate the starter and start the engine 2. The engine 2 drives the propeller 4 and it also drives the gear reducer 19 and the driven traction roller 15 thereby to slowly turn the tunnel 1 about a vertical axis, the rollers 12 riding on the circular track 14. The air flow created by the propeller 4 is blown past the engine 2 and as it is expelled from the tunnel 1, it creates a wind or disturbance of the colder air near the ground and causes it to rise so as to cause circulation of air whereby the disturbed colder air near the ground rises and is replaced by the upper warm air flowing downwardly.

The entire unit can be placed on a fiat vehicle and transported to the most suitable part of the orchard considering the direction of wind, the pattern of the trees in the orchard and other local conditions. The machine is simple in construction and positive in operation and is eminently adapted for its purposes.

We claim:

1. In an air mixer for orchards,

(a) a cylindrical air tunnel of substantially uniform inside diameter throughout its length, having an intake end and an exhaust end of substantially the same diameter,

(b) an internal combustion engine within said air tunnel,

(0) means to mount said engine substantially along the axis of said tunnel thereby to space said engine from the inside surface of said cylindrical tunnel all around the engine to form an air passage surrounding said engine,

(d) a propeller driven by said engine, said propeller being spaced from said intake end of said tunnel outwardly thereby to draw air into and impel air through said passage around said engine,

(e) abase,

(f) a support for said tunnel rotatably supported on said base, and

(g) rotating means connected to and driven by said engine to rotate said support and the tunnel thereon on said base.

2. The air mixer for orchards defined in claim 1, wherein the plane of rotation of said propeller is spaced from the intake of said tunnel at a distance equal to about 65 one-twelfth of the diameter of the propeller.

3. The air mixer for orchards defined in claim 2 and (h) a screen shield on the intake end of the tunnel surrounding said propeller, and

(i)' said propeller being of a diameter smaller than the inside diameter of said tunnel but larger than the cross section of the area occupied by said engine.

4. In an air mixer for orchards,

(a) an air tunnel having an intake end,

(b) an internal combustion engine mounted in the air tunnel substantially axial thereto,

(c) a propeller spaced from said intake end of said tunnel outwardly so as to draw air into and to impel air through said tunnel around said engine,

(d) a gas tank, said tunnel being fixedly mounted on said gas tank,

' (e) abase,

(f) a circular track on the base,

( g) rollers on said tank riding on said track,

(h) means to drive at least one of said rollers for rotating said tank and tunnel on said track at a pre-determined rate of movement.

5. The air mixer for orchards defined in claim 4 and fuel conveying means connecting said engine to said tank.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 617,660 1/1899 Simms 123-41.65 1,752,427 4/1930 Fales 23012O 2,041,969 5/1936 Seymour 472 2,231,454 2/1941 Saxe 472 2,481,702 9/1949 ToWt 230-258 2,592,119 4/1952 Chilton 230-116 2,886,249 5/1959 Sidlow 230-258 LAURENCE V. EFNER, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN AN AIR MIXER FOR ORCHARDS, (A) A CYLINDRICAL AIR TUNNEL OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM INSIDE DIAMETER THROUGHOUT ITS LENGTH, HAVING AN INTAKE END AND AN EXHAUST END OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIAMETER, (B) AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE WITHIN SAID AIR TUNNEL, (C) MEANS TO MOUNT SAID ENGINE SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE AXIS OF SAID TUNNEL THEREBY TO SPACE SAID ENGINE FROM THE INSIDE SURFACE OF SAID CYLINDRICAL TUNNEL ALL AROUND THE ENGINE TO FORM AN AIR PASSAGE SURROUNDING SAID ENGINE, (D) A PROPELLER DRIVEN BY SAID ENGINE, SAID PROPELLER BEING SPACED FROM SAID INTAKE END OF SAID TUNNEL OUTWARDLY THEREBY TO DRAW AIR INTO AND IMPEL AIR THROUGH SAID PASSAGE AROUND SAID ENGINE, (E) A BASE, (F) A SUPPORT FOR SAID TUNNEL ROTATABLY SUPPORTED ON SAID BASE, AND (G) ROTATING MEANS CONNECTED TO AND DRIVEN BY SAID ENGINE TO ROTATE SAID SUPPORT AND THE TUNNEL THEREON ON SAID BASE. 